Equilibrium
by notesonlife
Summary: Each smile was a victory on one side and a loss on the other of their unspoken war. [SasuTen]


**Equilibrium  
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**A/N:** I hope you like, SasuTen has violated my NejiTen mind and refuses to leave my already befuddled head. I wanted to write some crappily made SasuTen fic, so here you go. At the end(ish), NejiTen began to regain power in my mind, but since this is a SasuTen fic, it did not win. Enjoy, and please R&R. Birthday fic for aznjtgirl... okay, fine, it's an EARLY B-day gift.  
**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto, I'm a bishie glomper, not Masashi Kishimoto who prolly doesn't glomp bishies. And do you really think I'm being paid to write these crappily made fics? I'm not.  
**Note: **This fic's sole purpose is to bring you to the dark side, not to the bright chipper NejiTen side. We have sexy Uchiha bishies and cookies!

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He had been dragged back to Konoha after the war between Sound and Leaf. A seal was cast on him to limit chakra and he was assigned an ANBU guard to keep him in check, the only one capable enough was Hyuuga Neji. And she would tag along, the girl with odango hair and chocolate eyes. 

Tenten; that was her name.

Her accuracy was perfect; her skill with weapons mildly impressed him. He recognized her as his guard's girl, as the Hyuuga would gaze at her more often than not, the hugs and kisses he received from the girl put him in quite a decent mood, despite his task at babysitting the Uchiha prodigy.

The girl treated the reformed ninja with amused indifference, not scared of the power he could wield, nor angry at him abandoning Konoha and then returning. She was not a fangirl, just a simplistic kunoichi with a knack with weapons.

She challenged him in accuracy, and he had complied, confidently. Throwing kunais were his specialty; he did not need to mold chakra to keep his aim consistent.

She had won. She teasingly mocked him, but he did not feel anger. He liked the attention he received from her, this is what the Hyuuga must feel when she would smile at him. And he was intrigued, that this kunoichi, a mere Chunnin, could defeat him.

* * *

She became something more than just some kunoichi. He silently swore to get stronger and to defeat her, for his sake. Because he could not, he would not lose to her, the girl of the Hyuuga. 

And thus, the silent war began.

It was no longer only about accuracy, nor even in the field of combat. They were like kindred spirits, both with a liking of weapons and a good challenge. They battled secretly in everything, the attraction brewing between them. It became a war over who was stronger to withstand, who would not fall first.

She mocked him playfully when he tried to mold chakra without avail, and he feigned annoyance. But these little battles were worth the pain of weakness, of being a worthless shinobi unable to use ninjutsu and to rise up.

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And the Hyuuga watched them, the cheerful girl with odango hair and chocolate eyes and the moody boy with raven hair and black ones. Suspicions grew, but he held them down, forever watching the two bicker, moreover, his girl mock the moody traitor. 

Unknown to the Hyuuga, they had an unsettling balance, one that could be easily thrown off with a glance or a smirk. Each gaze was a battle; each smile was a victory on one side and a loss on the other of their unspoken war.

She hated to lose, he hated to lose her.

* * *

But the war was not over, he would glance at her and she would glance at him. And as her chocolate brown eyes met his onyx ones, a smile would curve on her lips in triumph as she cuddled closer to the boy with ivory eyes. And she would leave him at the end of everyday, alone and oddly jealous. 

He vowed revenge, that he would win this silent war, and that he would win her.

She returned often, tagging along with her boyfriend, giving the two a chance to fight once more.

His fingers would brush hers ever so slightly so only she and the Hyuuga would see, and that was vengeance enough.

The pale eyes would narrow enviously and she would blush a rosy pink, unsettling the Hyuuga more as he basked in his sweet silent revenge.

At the end, she would win by placing a soft kiss on the Neji's lips, destroying the insecurity in the older boy before shooting a winning smirk at the Sharingan user.

* * *

Time wore on, and Neji's guard was lessened, to the extent it was no longer needed. And Neji returned to the ANBU, leaving the two alone. 

She had realized there was a fault in the way he held a kunai, and the raven haired boy stood rigid still as she rearranged his fingers so he could throw better. 'Relax' she had said to him, but the boy could not with her so close to himself. Her fingers still burned his skin later, as he contemplated the day's events.

They would train together when Neji was sent on more and more missions, lost in the dark and clueless of the budding connection between the doujutsu-user and the weapon specialist.

And the brushes and the touches became more frequent, and the smiles and the smirks grew. They were like rivals, no longer confined in combat. And when the Hyuuga returned, the subtlety outshone the obvious, but the war continued.

* * *

But the Hyuuga is not at all dim, his eyes sees all, if not most. And he saw the smiles and the smirks, and possessive outgrew patience. He had taken her away when he was free, pulling her closer and holding her tighter. But Neji did not know that this binding and this control would make her push away and want the open fights and rivalry she enjoyed with the other Konoha prodigy. 

And when the ivory eyes could not take anymore jealousy, he confronted her. She had denied it a little too quickly, a little too fast. The Hyuuga refused to give her up, no matter what. He proposed.

And she couldn't say no.

The engagement had eased the Byakagun-user as he left on missions without worrying about his fiancée. But he didn't know that the commitment would not cease the war. The two continued to train, and the attraction did not stop brewing as more kunai was thrown, and plots were formed to bring the other down.

He knew about the engagement, about the upcoming matrimony, but he pushed it away, he didn't think about it, and thus, his jealousy didn't consume him.

* * *

And one day, he spun her around, pinning her to a tree in the classic ninja way between a denying lovelorn shinobi and his kunoichi. He unbound her chocolate brown hair, smirking at her vulnerability. She blushed hotly, turning her head away as he placed a soft kiss on her neck. She let out an irrepressible soft moan as lips met skin. He pressed a note in her hand before disappearing, leaving her to heal her internal wounds of their battle. The war had taken a drastic turning point, as she touched the sensitive skin his lips had once been. 

She read his note; it was mocking her and it was sarcastic. It was incredibly funny yet intensely erotic. His messy words haunted her at night, filling her with rather interesting dreams.

_Rivals have the best sex.  
Anytime.

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Her world spiraled downwards as she had found out that her engagement was annulled, false and illegal. Hyuuga Neji was already engaged, betrothed to his own cousin. He held his love in his arms one more time in the cover of the night, and he told her he was sorry. He told her to be happy without him. He told her to be happy with the Uchiha.

She went home and cried.

* * *

She no longer returned to battle. The war was over, and she had not lost, but given up. And he had waited, at the base of a large oak tree, waiting for her to return and to slap him across the face for the note, waiting for her to sweetly apologize, just waiting for her to come. And when she didn't, he stood up, brushed off the dirt from his clothes and walked home. 

Then, the day before the wedding, Naruto told him that Hyuuga Neji was getting married, and not to the girl with odango hair and chocolate brown eyes.

She had to go to the wedding; she had to return to the world outside her too-big bed to watch her love in matrimony.

She had put her hair up in one intricate bun, and wore a form-fitting pink Oriental kimono, and after a moment, fussed a bit with makeup. She positioned a fake smile against her lips, hiding her wounds. It was the peace treaty of the silent war. He had won triumphantly, and she would lose with the grace of a kunoichi.

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The Hyuuga's eyes had glanced over the rows of people, looking for that familiar face. She was standing in the back, and oh, gods, she looked beautiful. She gazed at him sadly, a small smile on his lips. He froze his heart, as he turned to watch Hinata come towards him. And in the corner of his eye, he could see the moody boy with raven black hair stand next to her.

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He did not take advantage of her vulnerability, nor did he seem to very much care about her anymore. She sat heartbroken through glazed eyes through the ceremony, and turned away towards him as the two leaned towards each other in an indifferent kiss on both ends. 

He touched her hand and led her out, as the audience applauded. He allowed her to silently weep on his chest, her trembling body weak and defenseless.

And as the after party began and music began to play, he asked for her hand to one sad, final, dance.

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**A/N: **Aww... it ended in SasuTen fluff. Sorry it was sort of OOC and crappily made, but actually, I think Sasuke would do stuff like that. But then again, I'm the one forcing innocent NejiTen fans to the dark side. -is actually on crack- 


End file.
